Michael L Kruger
Biographic Data
| ID | 3811326 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael L Kruger |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael L |
| FAMILY NAME | Kruger |
| SIGNATURE | KRUGER M L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 11 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 17 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Jewish Denominations and Longevity
This study examined the relationship between affiliation with one of three denominations within Judaism representing a conservative-liberal continuum of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism. The criterion for affiliation was burial in a cemetery maintained by these denominations. Longevities of married congregants born 1850-1910 were compared, controlling for birth year. Orthodox Jews had the shortest life spans (77 years); Conservative and…
Facial Resemblances between Heterosexual, Gay, and Lesbian Couples
Researchers have noted a physical resemblance (homophily) between human sex partners. To date, these studies and their related interpretations have been based on heterosexual couples. The present study compared physical resemblances between gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples, using 40 photographs of each from national newspapers, which were rated by 34 men and 56 women (M age = 53 yr., SD = 12.1). Half the photographs were of actual couples a…
Taking Thy Husband's Name
This study examined the influence of religion on women's decision to retain their birth names after marriage. Samples (N = 2575) were derived from wedding announcements in the New York Times, a major US newspaper. Multivariate analysis, controlling for age and year of marriage, indicated that the net effect of religion accounted for 2.6 percent of the likelihood of name keeping (p<.001). The highest percentage of women retaining birth names were …
Birth Month Affects Longevity
The authors examined the association between birth month and longevity for major league baseball players. Players born in the month of November had the greatest longevities whereas those born in June had the shortest life spans. These differences remained after controlling for covariates such as birth year, career length, age at debut, height, and player position. The authors determined that the most likely explanation is that those born during s…
The Widowhood Effect
Using mortality data derived from tombstones in two Midwestern cemeteries, we compared the "widowhood effect" (decreased survival following the death of a spouse) among Jews and Catholics. Jewish men and women were both more likely to die sooner after the death of their spouses compared to Catholic men and women. Life table survival analysis indicated that the median number of years of survival following widowhood for Catholic and Jewish men were…
Athletes, Doctors, and Lawyers with First Names Beginning with “D” Die Sooner
For many people, names have symbolic power that extends to their timing of death. This study examined the relationship between the symbolic significance of the first letters in the names of professional athletes (baseball, football, hockey, and basketball) and their longevity. A similar analysis was performed for doctors (radiologists, dermatologists, obstetricians/gynecologists) and lawyers for comparison purposes. There was a progressive decrea…
Mortality Salience of Birthdays on Day of Death in the Major Leagues
The authors assessed the relationship of mortality salience, as represented by birthdays, on the day of death. Preliminary studies considered the role of possible artifacts such as seasonality of birth and death, and time units for evaluation. On the basis of terror management theory's concept of "mortality salience," the authors hypothesized that famous people, in this case Major League Baseball (MLB) players, would be more likely to die on or a…
Going to the Devil
After surveying some of the origins for American placenames associated with the Devil, we determined the prevalence of those placenames including their cognates, e.g., Satan or equivalents in other languages, e.g. Diablo, and related terms such as Hell and its synonyms, e.g. Hades, compared to placenames with angel or Heaven and their equivalents, e.g., archangel, Cielo. We found a much higher prevalence of Devil and Hell placenames attached to n…
Age heterogamy and longevity
In most marriages, husbands are older than wives at the time of marriage. The extent of this age difference is referred to as age heterogamy. Studies of age heterogamous marriages have found men and women married to younger spouses live longer than those married to spouses that are the same age at time of marriage. In this study we examined the role of a religious affiliation as a factor in this age heterogamy effect, by comparing Jewish and Chri…
Heaping in Anniversary Reaction Studies
Several studies have reported evidence that death is often associated with significant ceremonial events like holidays and birthdays, a phenomenon variously called the "anniversary reaction," "holiday effect," "birthday blues," etc. This article, using data from the social security death index (SSDI), shows how evidence for this phenomenon can arise from an artifact in death records called "death heaping" in which certain dates, usually the 1st o…
Precocity Predicts Shorter Life for Major League Baseball Players
We tested McCann's precocity-longevity hypothesis, which proposes that early career achievement is related to premature death, for Major League baseball players (N = 3,760). Age at debut was the definition for precocity. We controlled for possible artifacts of life expectancy selection, the "healthy worker" effect, player position, and body-mass index. Statistically significant Pearson correlations occurred between precocity and longevity, and re…
Gender Related Naming Practices
Stereotypic Gender Naming Practices For American And Australian Dogs And Cats
Pets are considered as part of the family in many households. As such, the names people give their pets ought to resemble the names they give their children in terms of sex-stereotypic phonological characteristics. A previous study indicated that this was true for Golden Retriever dogs. The present study determined 1) if such sex stereotyping was true for dogs in general, 2) also extended to cats, and 3) if the same phenomena held for both the Un…
Nicknames Increase Longevity
We investigated the effect of having a nickname on the longevity of major league baseball players. Ages of death, birth year, and career lengths of major league baseball players who debuted prior to 1950 were obtained and we compared longevities of players with nicknames with those who did not have a nickname. After controlling for these factors in analysis of covariance, there was a statistically significant increase in longevity of 2.5 years as…
Educational Attainment and Suicide Rates in the United States
We examined the relationship between educational attainment and suicide rate in the United States for 2001. Suicide rates, adjusted for age, were compared with percentage of college graduates, median household income, and poverty in 50 states in 2001. The correlations of suicide rates with educational attainment and median household income were both negative and statistically significant. Poverty was not significantly related to suicide rates. We…
The Longevity of Baseball Hall of Famers Compared to Other Players
The authors compared the longevity of all baseball players alive at the time of their induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame with age-matched controls who were likewise alive at the time of the Hall of Famer's induction, and also matched them for career length, player position, and body-mass index, to assess if fame in sports is associated with increased longevity. Median post-induction survival for Hall of Famers was 5 years shorter than for n…
Seasonally of birth in the majors, 1880-1999
We examined two alternative explanations, one demographic, the other sociological, for the uneven distribution of birth months of Major League baseball (MLB) players active between 1880 and 1999. Beginning in 1900, players born between August and October were significantly overrepresented, and this uneven distribution was almost identical for the next five 20-year periods. During the last 20-year period (1980-1999), the disparity in birth months …
The Longevity of Baseball Hall of Famers Compared to Other Players
The authors compared the longevity of all baseball players alive at the time of their induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame with age-matched controls who were likewise alive at the time of the Hall of Famer's induction, and also matched them for career length, player position, and body-mass index, to assess if fame in sports is associated with increased longevity. Median post-induction survival for Hall of Famers was 5 years shorter than for n…
Taking Thy Husband's Name
This study examined the influence of religion on women's decision to retain their birth names after marriage. Samples (N = 2575) were derived from wedding announcements in the New York Times, a major US newspaper. Multivariate analysis, controlling for age and year of marriage, indicated that the net effect of religion accounted for 2.6 percent of the likelihood of name keeping (p<.001). The highest percentage of women retaining birth names were …
Birth Month Affects Longevity
The authors examined the association between birth month and longevity for major league baseball players. Players born in the month of November had the greatest longevities whereas those born in June had the shortest life spans. These differences remained after controlling for covariates such as birth year, career length, age at debut, height, and player position. The authors determined that the most likely explanation is that those born during s…
Mortality Salience of Birthdays on Day of Death in the Major Leagues
The authors assessed the relationship of mortality salience, as represented by birthdays, on the day of death. Preliminary studies considered the role of possible artifacts such as seasonality of birth and death, and time units for evaluation. On the basis of terror management theory's concept of "mortality salience," the authors hypothesized that famous people, in this case Major League Baseball (MLB) players, would be more likely to die on or a…
Gender Related Naming Practices
Stereotypic Gender Naming Practices For American And Australian Dogs And Cats
Pets are considered as part of the family in many households. As such, the names people give their pets ought to resemble the names they give their children in terms of sex-stereotypic phonological characteristics. A previous study indicated that this was true for Golden Retriever dogs. The present study determined 1) if such sex stereotyping was true for dogs in general, 2) also extended to cats, and 3) if the same phenomena held for both the Un…
Educational Attainment and Suicide Rates in the United States
We examined the relationship between educational attainment and suicide rate in the United States for 2001. Suicide rates, adjusted for age, were compared with percentage of college graduates, median household income, and poverty in 50 states in 2001. The correlations of suicide rates with educational attainment and median household income were both negative and statistically significant. Poverty was not significantly related to suicide rates. We…
The Longevity of Baseball Hall of Famers Compared to Other Players
The authors compared the longevity of all baseball players alive at the time of their induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame with age-matched controls who were likewise alive at the time of the Hall of Famer's induction, and also matched them for career length, player position, and body-mass index, to assess if fame in sports is associated with increased longevity. Median post-induction survival for Hall of Famers was 5 years shorter than for n…
Seasonally of birth in the majors, 1880-1999
We examined two alternative explanations, one demographic, the other sociological, for the uneven distribution of birth months of Major League baseball (MLB) players active between 1880 and 1999. Beginning in 1900, players born between August and October were significantly overrepresented, and this uneven distribution was almost identical for the next five 20-year periods. During the last 20-year period (1980-1999), the disparity in birth months …
Nicknames Increase Longevity
We investigated the effect of having a nickname on the longevity of major league baseball players. Ages of death, birth year, and career lengths of major league baseball players who debuted prior to 1950 were obtained and we compared longevities of players with nicknames with those who did not have a nickname. After controlling for these factors in analysis of covariance, there was a statistically significant increase in longevity of 2.5 years as…
Heaping in Anniversary Reaction Studies
Several studies have reported evidence that death is often associated with significant ceremonial events like holidays and birthdays, a phenomenon variously called the "anniversary reaction," "holiday effect," "birthday blues," etc. This article, using data from the social security death index (SSDI), shows how evidence for this phenomenon can arise from an artifact in death records called "death heaping" in which certain dates, usually the 1st o…
Precocity Predicts Shorter Life for Major League Baseball Players
We tested McCann's precocity-longevity hypothesis, which proposes that early career achievement is related to premature death, for Major League baseball players (N = 3,760). Age at debut was the definition for precocity. We controlled for possible artifacts of life expectancy selection, the "healthy worker" effect, player position, and body-mass index. Statistically significant Pearson correlations occurred between precocity and longevity, and re…
Gender Related Naming Practices
Stereotypic Gender Naming Practices For American And Australian Dogs And Cats
Pets are considered as part of the family in many households. As such, the names people give their pets ought to resemble the names they give their children in terms of sex-stereotypic phonological characteristics. A previous study indicated that this was true for Golden Retriever dogs. The present study determined 1) if such sex stereotyping was true for dogs in general, 2) also extended to cats, and 3) if the same phenomena held for both the Un…
Going to the Devil
After surveying some of the origins for American placenames associated with the Devil, we determined the prevalence of those placenames including their cognates, e.g., Satan or equivalents in other languages, e.g. Diablo, and related terms such as Hell and its synonyms, e.g. Hades, compared to placenames with angel or Heaven and their equivalents, e.g., archangel, Cielo. We found a much higher prevalence of Devil and Hell placenames attached to n…
Age heterogamy and longevity
In most marriages, husbands are older than wives at the time of marriage. The extent of this age difference is referred to as age heterogamy. Studies of age heterogamous marriages have found men and women married to younger spouses live longer than those married to spouses that are the same age at time of marriage. In this study we examined the role of a religious affiliation as a factor in this age heterogamy effect, by comparing Jewish and Chri…
The Widowhood Effect
Using mortality data derived from tombstones in two Midwestern cemeteries, we compared the "widowhood effect" (decreased survival following the death of a spouse) among Jews and Catholics. Jewish men and women were both more likely to die sooner after the death of their spouses compared to Catholic men and women. Life table survival analysis indicated that the median number of years of survival following widowhood for Catholic and Jewish men were…
Athletes, Doctors, and Lawyers with First Names Beginning with “D” Die Sooner
For many people, names have symbolic power that extends to their timing of death. This study examined the relationship between the symbolic significance of the first letters in the names of professional athletes (baseball, football, hockey, and basketball) and their longevity. A similar analysis was performed for doctors (radiologists, dermatologists, obstetricians/gynecologists) and lawyers for comparison purposes. There was a progressive decrea…
Mortality Salience of Birthdays on Day of Death in the Major Leagues
The authors assessed the relationship of mortality salience, as represented by birthdays, on the day of death. Preliminary studies considered the role of possible artifacts such as seasonality of birth and death, and time units for evaluation. On the basis of terror management theory's concept of "mortality salience," the authors hypothesized that famous people, in this case Major League Baseball (MLB) players, would be more likely to die on or a…
Birth Month Affects Longevity
The authors examined the association between birth month and longevity for major league baseball players. Players born in the month of November had the greatest longevities whereas those born in June had the shortest life spans. These differences remained after controlling for covariates such as birth year, career length, age at debut, height, and player position. The authors determined that the most likely explanation is that those born during s…
Facial Resemblances between Heterosexual, Gay, and Lesbian Couples
Researchers have noted a physical resemblance (homophily) between human sex partners. To date, these studies and their related interpretations have been based on heterosexual couples. The present study compared physical resemblances between gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples, using 40 photographs of each from national newspapers, which were rated by 34 men and 56 women (M age = 53 yr., SD = 12.1). Half the photographs were of actual couples a…
Taking Thy Husband's Name
This study examined the influence of religion on women's decision to retain their birth names after marriage. Samples (N = 2575) were derived from wedding announcements in the New York Times, a major US newspaper. Multivariate analysis, controlling for age and year of marriage, indicated that the net effect of religion accounted for 2.6 percent of the likelihood of name keeping (p<.001). The highest percentage of women retaining birth names were …
Jewish Denominations and Longevity
This study examined the relationship between affiliation with one of three denominations within Judaism representing a conservative-liberal continuum of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism. The criterion for affiliation was burial in a cemetery maintained by these denominations. Longevities of married congregants born 1850-1910 were compared, controlling for birth year. Orthodox Jews had the shortest life spans (77 years); Conservative and…
Demography (10 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Demography (8 works) · Gerontology (8 works) · Medicine (8 works) · History (7 works) · Longevity (7 works) · History (6 works) · League (5 works)